Tag: Mother God religion.

Music of the Spheres/Janati/geniae/Odin’s Cross vs Celtic Fora/Altar set up.

Great Dove of the Waters, Rose of the World, Help us to aspire to the heart of the flame.

You are the Music of the Spheres, You are the Meaning of all words, You are the end of every road and also its beginning.

Help us to know You. (From the Madrian Rite of Sacrifice.)

20) Yet, within the seed is the essence of a tree, and from the seed, the whole tree may unfold. 21) So, from essential Truth unfoldeth all other knowledge as the music of the spheres unfoldeth from a single note. (From The Seed of Truth, vs 20 and 21).

The Music of the Spheres, the idea of which originated with the renowned mathematician and philosopher, Pythagoras, (1) also has a place within our religion. It represents the sublime harmony of Creation or, as in the Lucienne Tradition (Lady of Light Chantry), it represents the Oran Mor or the Great Melody of Creation. {See this beautiful article (2)}.

Astoundingly, and yet, perhaps not too surprisingly, scientists have found proof of this heavenly music; they found that the Music of the Spheres, of the stars and of the planets is real! To listen to the Music of the Spheres, please see the articles under :(3-5)

Janati/geniae in the Janite Tradition.

The Seven Living, Intelligent Streams of Dea, Who are the planetary powers or the rulers of the planets, were originally known, by the Madrians, as Geniae, plural or Genia/singular. It was later that the Geniae became known, through Filianism, as the Janyati.

Because the ‘y’ has a special meaning that is not relevant or appropriate for Janites, we spell it as it is in Sanskrit: Janati for the plural and Jana for the singular.

Aside from the Seven Who are Living Streams of Dea in angelic form, there were also lesser geniae/janati, who were considered to be the ‘daughters’ of the Seven.

In the Janite Tradition, these lesser geniae/janya are not considered to be the daughters of the Janati per se, but they are considered to be divine beings in angelic form. To differentiate them from the Seven Janati, we refer to them as geniae (with a lower case g). We give them the title of Lady as opposed to Madria/Mother as with the Janati.

The geniae of the Janite Tradition are:

Lady Annya: genia of fire, the reflection of the Sun.

Lady Chara: genia of joy

Lady Charis: genia of beauty, splendour, glory and adornment.

Lady Herthe’: genia of hearth and home.

Lady Kala: genia. She is the cutter of fate. (The three fates are said to be a reflection of the Holy Trinity on manifest plane of flux and change. (Gospel of Our Mother God.)

Lady Maia: genia. She is the spinner of fate.

Lady Ouranya: genia of the sky.

Lady Thalia: genia of blossoms. (Also known as Anthea).

Lady Vaya: genia of wind spirit or spirit of breath.

Lady Werde’: genia. She is the weaver of fate.

The feast day of the geniae, which included the Janati in the Madrian religion was held on Dec. 25, as their date of Nativity differed from that of the Filianists. The Janites assign individual feast days for the Seven Janati according to Their Season. And so, the feast day for the geniae shall be celebrated on 1 Maia/April 18.

~

‘Odin’s Cross’ vs Celtic Knot Cross

It is absolutely reprehensible when hate groups misappropriate sacred symbols as being symbolic of hate, genocide and racism such as the Nazi swastika which was and still is a symbol of great holiness within Hinduism. The very word, swastika comes from the Sanskrit word, svastika which means, good fortune. It was first used in Neolithic Eurasia in honor of Dea in Her form of Sunna, a Form and Image of the Supernal Sun. She was the primary Goddess in Germanic society for thousands of years. (7)

The pentagram is another example. Always a sacred symbol since time beyond memory, it also came to signify the five wounds of Christ! Now, anyone who walks around wearing a pentacle with be met with averted eyes and airs of suspicion.

Now, what is being called Odin’s Cross (it is a Celtic solar cross) is used as a symbol of White Supremacists groups. .

I, for one, refuse to allow our most sacred symbol be overtaken by these people. We know the depths of meaning this symbol has for the Deanic religion. And it has meaning in Celtic Christianity, too.

Odin’s crosses tend to be very rugged looking and very straight. I wear one that is very Celtic looking and is probably closer to the Celtic knot cross.

Yes, we could change our main symbol. But, how many times do we have to change symbols because some evil group decides to use it to represent them?

To those who are concerned about wearing a symbol that has been taken over by evil, and I do understand, then I suggest a Celtic knot cross such as the following. Not all have the inner circle which represents the Still Centre of Being, but, they are close enough.

Janite Altar Set Up

Janite hestia altars are to be found everywhere: a corner table; the top of an hope chest; a bureau, an icon corner, or a specially made altar. Some have room for seven candles, others have room for one central candle.

Right now, as I have recently moved and we are still renovating the interior of my hestia, I am actually using an antique vanity table. I have a picture of the Holy Daughter on my altar and images of the Celestial Mother and the Great Mother up above the altar.

The altar is placed in the East. When the Mistress of the Hestia or the madria/madrina is facing the altar, she is facing East.

So, the number of candles to be found on a Janite altar would be one of of sacred numbers: one, three, five or seven. They can be arranged any way.

The altar cloth or scarf is the color of the Season and so right now, the altar cloth would be red.

When I had my main altar set up, I had the five directional candles and two main altar candles for the sacred number seven. For safety sake,if using the seven, these candles may also be lined up along the back of the altar. Today, I have two antique globe lights as my main altar candles, two pillar lights and a central tea light.

The scriptures should be on a side-table, to the left. (If they fit on the altar, great!)

If not allergic to incense, there should be an incense holder, which is placed to the back-right-hand side of the altar, along with a bowl of holy water, which is placed to the right and a vial of holy oil which is placed on the left of the altar.

We use wands to bless in the five directions, to stir the water when making holy water and for other liturgical reasons. A fresh evergreen branch, that has been found on the ground, may be used instead of the wand. The wand is placed on the right side of the altar, near the holy water.

If the altar is small, then the central candle is moved to the back of the altar and the chalice and patene’ are placed in the center of the altar.

A statue, icon or image of Our Lady may be placed in the middle of the altar (behind the chalice and patene’) or above or near the altar. Of course, images of the entire Trinity and the Janati may surround the altar as well. Look up icon corners and see how many images Orthodox Christians have in their home shrines!

The Madrians had a ritual to consecrate an altar or home shrine which will be found in the prayer book. For now, simply following the Blessing Rite and bless (with holy water), consecrate (with incense) and anoint(with holy oil) your altar.

The blessing with holy water is done through the Grace of the Holy Daughter, Kora.

The consecrating with incense is done through the Energy or Force of the Celestial Mother, Mari. (If allergic, this step may be skipped.)

The anointing with holy oil is done through the Power of the Great Mother.

The third Order is the Iremian Order. It’s Symbol is the Fora and it is the Order of stillness and quiet contemplation. It’s Season is Moura and the time of day is Evening.

Those clergy and sorellas (sisters) who serve in the Iremian Order are the Hands and Feet of the Great Mother. They exist, metaphorically, within the Still Centre of the Fora. (Inside the circle of the Fora.) Iremians may work, if they desire, in the areas of hymns, chants, sacred dance, Deanic artwork, poetry and prayers, automatic writing.

The following scripture verses apply to the Iremian Order:

21 In thy work, praise Her and in thy resting, in thy speech and in thy silence. 22 For thou wert made one with Her and this is thy true estate. It is good for a maid to till the soil, but it is better to live with her Lady. It is good to serve maids in every way, but it is better to live with her Lady. 23 She that liveth wholly with her Lady is the servant of all the world; no labour is so great at this, nor so greatly to be honored. The Pillar of Truth vs 21-23.

Rather than being concerned that the choice of serving in the Iremian Order does not accomplish much in this world, be mindful that it accomplishes everything.

You, as an Iremian, reflect that quiet Stillness and Tranquility of the Veiled One, the Great Mother. That inner serenity, which you try to foster as a member of the Iremians, radiates outward from you in your daily life.

You never know which person you might encounter during the day who was the most in need of your quiet look of acceptance or your shy smile. Someone might be having the worst day of their life and your look of kindness might remind them that they have worth as an human being. They might remember that they have purpose in this world. You may have lifted someone spirits from the depths of utter despair.

Your prayers and devotion to Dea are powerful. They are not just for you and your loved ones; each prayer radiates out into the world like a cry of praise or longing which echoes around the globe. We, as humans, are One. And when one prays, it is as if the One is praying.

When you live each day with Dea; when you mindfully perform each task as an act of love; when you offer up your joys and sufferings to Our Lady in perfect trust, you are radiating that Light, Love and Life that has its beginning within the Stillness of the Centre; you are radiating it outwards, beyond the circle of the Fora and along the Four Rivers of Life.

We all feel it. We all know what it’s like to belong to a religion that is virtually unknown and unrecognized. It’s a lonely place to be, that is for sure. Lonely and not so lonely, because we have each other; we have the Janati surrounding us, always, and we have Dea, Our Divine Mother. We are never alone.

Some people poke fun at ‘online religious communities’. Our religion began on-the-ground, in England, in the 1970’s. Ours is but one latter expression of it.

Many religions began as a small, relatively unknown band or group of people who shared certain beliefs. Perhaps they started out being called by G-d Who spoke to their prophet through a fiery bush or maybe the Son of the Father incarnated to dwell amongst them. Other religions may have begun with an charismatic prophet who attained enlightenment under a Bodhi tree or from sacred texts older than historical time. One way or another, through the preaching of prophets, the performance of miracles, sacred writings or through just plain word of mouth, these religions all grew over the years, the decades, the centuries. Some were controlled and promulgated by governments, others were not. They were all fostered and subsequently flourished on the ground, in the material world not by ‘ instant mass media’ in cyber space.

The Deanic Faith began with a group of highly educated Oxford women who came to understand that we have a Divine Mother God. These scholars were quick to point out that She is not a goddess, a superhuman, semi-divine or angelic being but She is God, Herself. Supreme Being. Supreme Being is the same way that same way that Jews and Christians understand the Father to be God and so we understand Dea to be God in the same way that Jews and Christians understand the Father to be God. Supreme Being.

These women further intuited that Dea is God in Her Own Right. She is complete within Herself. And they discovered that the religion of the Divine Mother is the oldest religion in the world.

The only religion still in existence who never forgot their Mother; who never allowed their Living Stream to dry up, is Hinduism, especially in the Shakti denomination. Other religions demoted Her.

It is hard to over-estimate the brilliance of this thinking which took place an half a century before our own day when the Holy Spirit, the Divine Sophia and the Shekinah are coming to be recognized as part of the Godhead in Their Own Right.

These women came up with a perfect system of worship for Her, for Dea Madria, Our Mother God. It was to be a very Feminine system of worship, the sum of which exists in perfect harmony with its parts. And, the gift of the scriptures, though perhaps interpreted in slightly different ways, has proven to be foundational to the over-all inner strength and spirit of the Faith.

They gave us the Five Sacred Symbols, the Five Mysteries, the perfect Five Seasons,the Feminine 28 day calendar, the understanding of the Janati and so much more. And though these things may be little understood by those not of our Faith, they are our greatest treasures. They are our way of understanding, honoring and worshiping the Divine Feminine in this realm. They are our mindset and our heartset.

The women from Oxford shared similar beliefs. They spread the Faith through magazines and printed publications. They formed small communities.

Today, we of the greater Deanic religion share similar beliefs. In today’s world, the internet is the fastest way to ‘spread the word’, so to speak and it also connects believers from diverse parts of the world who would otherwise never come to know of each other.

This relatively obscure religion is growing, growing all the time. I see it with my own eyes. I believe it has a future because so many want to worship the Divine Mother, but they don’t know how.

Even those mainstream denominations who are coming to believe in Holy Sophia or the Feminine Holy Spirit or Holy Sophia, these churches might have some Divine Feminine hymns; they might have some Sophian prayers, but they don’t have an outright worship of Dea. They have yet to understand Her as being God in Her Own Right. We do. We are so fortunate.

I know it’s hard when we don’t know how to respond to people when they ask us about our religion/spirituality. It’s hard because we are unable to respond with something that is immediately identifiable like Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist or Pagan. We can’t even say that we are of a ‘goddess religion’ because, as previously explained, there is a difference between goddess and God. I believe that one day, the term Deanic will be identifiable, but right now, it is not.

After we are asked about our religious affiliation, the thought that goes through our heads is, ok, they’ve never heard of Deanism so how on Earth am I going to put this in a nutshell? I can’t just say I worship Mother God, because mainstream people will either have no idea what I’m talking about, or they will immediately think I’m an heretic or that I’m making it all up. Or, they will assume that I am Wiccan or Pagan, which I am neither.

Next thought: Ok, there would be too much to explain in too little time and so I’m just going to say that I’m (and then name the nearest spirituality to Deanism).

This is a tough situation for us and sometimes can make us feel a bit alienated from the world because our religion is so unique.

We cannot identify as being a part of any of the Abrahamic Faiths, although we model Dea on Sophia/Shekinah.

We cannot identify as being Buddhist or Hindu (although we might be considered a type of Western Shaktism).

We cannot identify as being Wiccan, Heathen or Pagan. Pagans and Heathens are polytheistic, we are monotheastic. Pagans believe in gods that are superhuman. We believe in God that is Supreme Being.

As an aside, this is why Janites are very careful to only use Living Stream ‘goddesses’ as Forms for Dea rather than Pagan goddesses. A Pagan goddess is not Supreme Being and therefore is not a suitable Form for Dea just as Zeus is not a Form of the Father God of Jews and Christians. They are not the same!

Our religion is unique, brilliantly conceived, complex, beautiful and relatively unknown. If we are asked about our Faith, we, as Her devotees, Her priestesses, Her daughters, should be honest. This is hard, even for me because I don’t want to have to give a quick answer, leaving the querent with the wrong impression of our Faith. I want the person to have a correct understanding of our Faith. But, that is over-whelming because no-one’s ever heard of us and there’s too much to tell!!!!!

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, lately. Only a couple of people at my work know that I am a priest (ess) of the Divine Mother. But, as a priestess, I need to be ready to answer for my beliefs, for my calling.

ArchMatrona Georgia has explained the Faith to many and has been very well received. When asked, we should strive to follow her example. We can keep it very simple. I am Deanic. It’s a religion which honors our Divine Mother. And we can leave it at that. If someone is truly interested, they can be referred to our websites and future publications. (We NEED to print up some basic brochures in addition to the prayer book that is still in progress.)

Finally, we should never feel alone. It’s wonderful that we have the internet. It is the fastest way to spread information. It is a modern vehicle of long-distance community. I always have a sense of our sisters and brothers in the Faith. I feel like we are always spiritually together. I think of all of us when I serve the liturgy, pray or write an article. I think of all of us when I am walking down the road or driving to work. We might not live near each other. We might not have on-the-ground communities because we worship in our hestias, but I feel that our spiritual bond and our instant and sometimes daily communications, teachings, posts, our sharing and our caring, though it takes place through the cyber realm, is just as real as if we attended church service together.

Let us remember the words of our liturgy, “Madria Dea, we have come before Your Earthly altar within Ekklesia, in union with the Great Janati Who stand before Your Celestial Altar in Heaven. May we be one in Spirit with all Your children, everywhere who are gathered together in Your Name.

And further: For we know that Ekklesia transcends this world, even as this sacred altar transcends the earthly stuff of which its parts are made. For we know that as we stand before this altar within Ekklesia, we stand at once before Your Celestial Altar, which is both in Heaven and in every place where Your children come together in Your Name. 1)

We are always one in Spirit and one in Ekklesia. We are always bound together in Dea. Always together in Spirit, out of time, out of space, which is more real than the material illusion around us.

This is why Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism teaches that the church, or more specifically, the liturgy is heaven on Earth or the meeting place between Heaven and Earth. This is due to the Power of what takes place during the liturgy. This is why, in most Orthodox and Traditional Catholic churches/chapels, people still dress in their Sunday best for liturgy. This same Power which brings Heaven down to Earth during the liturgy, is the same Power which binds us together as a community in Her Love, Her Spirit and beneath the enfolding shelter of Her Mantle. And we all share in the Daughter’s Soul.

We have so much for which to be grateful with this beautiful Faith. And though it can be hard for us when the mainstream people all around us, even those who aren’t so ‘main-stream’, do not know of our religion let alone understand it; we still have to be those beacons filled with light. We need to pray to Madria Vicka for the courage we need and we need to ask Madria Sofia to guide us in all Wisdom.

We may keep our answers simple and we must use discernment in what we say to whom, but we must not be afraid though our religion is little known by the mainstream. Someday, our religion will be known.

Guiding Light of the faithful soul, fill the deepest caverns of our spirit with the exhilaration of Your love. Send us forth upon the world as torchbearers of Your delight and grant us strength in You and in ourselves that we may value all things, rightly, regardless of the consuming weight of the profane and the frailty of all that is beautiful.

~

Let us bless the Holy One,

Blessed is She.

Let us thank the Seven Janati of Power.

Thanks be to the Seven Janati.

~

ArchMadria Candra Sophia

*Our thanks to Madrina Rosalie for her assistance in the proper pronunciation.

The Great Liturgy of Dea, Janite Edition.

Silver Light of the Forests from the Great Liturgy of Dea, Janite Edition.